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Located within driving distance of Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York City and Washington, D.C., the New Jersey Shore offers nearly 130 miles of sandy beaches, boardwalks, amusement parks, casinos and year-round fun by the seaside. The best time to go depends on what sorts of activities you want to enjoy.

Family Fun

The Jersey Shore has been a family destination for generations, and when school is out, the beaches and boardwalks are filled with kids of all ages. Most towns on the shore are family-friendly, with tons of activities for children and parents. Amusement parks, mini-golf courses and arcades are open daily during summer. The beaches are open and staffed with lifeguards for swimming daily and many towns host weekly family movie nights on the beach.

Wild Nights

The parties and mayhem depicted on the MTV show "Jersey Shore" aren&#039;t all just for the cameras. Many Jersey Shore towns have a thriving nightlife scene. Entertainment capitals like Atlantic City and Asbury Park offer chances to dine, drink, gamble and listen to live music nightly year-round, but the smaller crowds off-season mean shorter hours for many establishments in smaller towns. For the maximum nightlife potential, head to the shore between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend.

Relaxation

While time spent at the beach is already relaxing, for the most peace and quiet consider spending time at the Jersey Shore in autumn. Crowds clear out immediately after Labor Day, leaving calm beaches and no lines for brunch or the popular seafood spots -- or anything at all, really. Restaurants and bars are open and the water is still warm enough to swim in. Another benefit is that prices for rental homes are often less than half the cost of peak summer rentals.

Surfing

There are decent waves to be had in New Jersey nearly year-round, but the temperature and swimmers in the surf make some times harder to surf than others. Warm, sunny days make summer a great time to be on the water, but crowds can make it hard to find both parking and available waves. In winter and spring, crowds are never a problem, but the frigid water temperatures mean you need to surf with booties, gloves and a hood. Fall is a near perfect time for surfing in New Jersey. The crowds have all gone back to work and school, the water temperature is still balmy and hurricane season can make for particularly good waves.

Holidays

While the water stops being good for swimming sometime in early October, winter at the beach can be beautiful. Prices for rental homes are cheap and some houses offer fireplaces to cozy up in front of when the winds off the Atlantic Ocean become too frigid. Most towns have lovely holiday festivals, and on New Year&#039;s Eve there are many family-friendly First Night events on the boardwalks, and the Ocean City Pops performs at the Ocean City Tabernacle.

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About the Author

Author and journalist Elle McLaughlin has been writing about travel and lifestyle topics for magazines since 1994. Always in pursuit of a good story, she has harvested agave in Mexico, made cheese in Vermont and picked grapes in New Zealand. McLaughlin attended the City University of New York, majoring in history and minoring in international relations.

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